[needlewoman]

Bloody hell (and I’m not apologising for swearing)!! This has to be the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. One PP presentation once a term would still be more than enough! In the 1960’s my brothers’ school had every kid do a “project” on a set topic every week, and I’m here to tell you, it took up every weekend, and involved the whole family, and many tears/rewriting for my primary school age brothers to produce abt 3 pages of writing and pictures every single week for years!! The tyranny of the weekly “project” (x 2) preoccupied/scarred our family for many years, and of course, it was the kids with the most dedicated parents that got the “A’s”. Tell the teacher to shove it, or if you don’t want to do that, just say “NO”. What sort of news does a primary schooler have that requires a PP presentation, anyway? Some kids lead exciting lives, most don’t, of course. And it distinguishes unfairly between the kids whose parents have the money/leisure to do interesting things with them (and prepare the slideshow), and those who don’t (ie. most, especially those with jobs). Sorry for the rant; it’s just that my brothers and I still remember all those weekends combing through mags for appropriate pictures, and paraphrasing The World Book Encyclopaedia for appropriate text. Eons before Google etc as you can tell. School is about education, not oppression for either the children or the parents.

[Sarvi]

Haha, I always remember Edward Tufte’s big anti-PowerPoint rant, and then David Byrne’s delicious satire and kind of amazing PowerPoint art. I used it as mood lighting for a birthday party once!

[Anonymous]

chicken chicken chicken

We don’t even have MS Office at home, so the school would have to buy me a copy of if they wanted that for home work anyway.

[meleliza]

Right? Who even uses power point any more? Let alone has a copy at home. Sorry, Fi, that bites. I would complain to the school for sure,

[Tamara]

Well, today marked the end of in term swimming! And yet another in your face “did you pass or fail” from parents and the chatting that goes on outside the classroom. I’m thrilled because miss 10 finally passed stage four after being in that stage since year two and having to be mucked about and put in a stage three class during one of those years when she had already passed! I am disappointed for N though as for the fourth time he will have to do stage two but he tried sooooooo hard and was so nearly there! I want to try and get them into the October vacation swimming session in Perth just so they can refresh their skills sooner and have a fighting chance this time of making it (both of them) in the swimming club! All this competition!

Swimming carnival next week and I am going to just watch but please don’t let it be anymore than 32 degrees!

I was talking to a friend when her daughter (one of the it girls) came up all upset because of friction. Why is it when girls hit year five that is when everything goes haywire in their friendships? Both my friend and I have daughters who are genuine and loving girls who wear their hearts on their sleeves. Unfortunately they don’t stick together but it would be lovely if they could support each other.

I am so very glad it is the weekend again! I am counting the weeks until Easter break! Such a long term and we’re only halfway through.

[Tamara]

There is something to be said about the benefit of reversible dresses! My daughter came home with a note from the teacher asking us to “please dress your child in yellow, blue, or white” for the assembly item on Tuesday. It is sorted! After showing her the other side of the roller skate dress she wore yesterday, she has decided that the white side will do for the item. Saves me having to panic about making one especially but didn’t stop the pulling of the “suitable fabrics” from the cupboard.

Thanks Liesl for thinking up a reversible dress!

[Jess M.]

A great idea Nicole! I’ve missed you all. Lots of stuff going on since Vacation and stuff with Maria’s school, so I’ve been a busy bee and not much sewing going on. I’m totally sad panda about that. I’m also realizing that all of my favorites are too small for her now (she just went through a massive growth spurt) and I need to get the larger patterns of my staple patterns. My poor wallet is on strike.

[cybele727]

Power point? 7 year old? Marches self into teacher’s room and then principal’s office demanding an explanation of why children who may no have access to outdated technology should be punished when a teacher unfairly upped the grading rubric, demanding to see where PP is on the curriculum, and what skills can be taught only using PP, and demanding to know how this is any way developmentally appropriate for this age group! Whence did this person get his/her teacher’s degree and license? The Internet? Hello 2013, 1990 is calling and they want their technology back.

Pfft.

On a different note hubby said, “go buy some cheap material to make play pants for our daughter. I am afraid to put her in the pretty ones you made [after school-corduroy with ruffles] because they might get dirty in the mud with spring coming.” Me: they do wash you know. She can look pretty playing in mud, but if you ACTUALLY want me to go buy fabric to make more pants, I will.

Off to get some chambray denim for pants. Note to self … No ruffles bc then they are too pretty for spring mud. Shrugs.

[Tamara]

Oh thats funny! It is like making hot pink field trip pants for miss 10 to help her dad in would be too “up market” for that kind of farm work! Men! Honestly they have no idea. I showed my hubby a picture of the negroni short pattern the other day and was met with a comment of “Does it come in short sleeves?” Duh! The picture showed short sleeves!

It is downloadable which is a bonus and I think I will see what it is like. His shirts are too big for him and tatty and seeing as he wont let me buy clothes for him I will make them and he will have no choice but to wear them!

Going to an assembly tomorrow – miss ten is dressing as a cloud ( well dressing in white) for the class item and then she is getting an honour certificate from the music teacher which is pretty cool seeing as it seems she is left until last to get one in general.

Oh and we finally got a drop of rain – 10mm at home and 14mm out the paddock. It has to keep coming though as the sheep are hungry!

[cybele727]

I thought it sweet. He was trying to say… “you work too hard on these to ruin them.” (Nice to be appreciated) But he doesn’t realize it will take me as long to make a pair without ruffles. LOL. Men….

[meleliza]

1990 called, hahahaha! I need a fresh line like that for my sons preschool. I’m so fed up with them June can’t come fast enough!

[cybele727]

I left teaching about 4 years ago. I resented the PP requirement FOR ME! Put your lessons on PP. UGH…. hello, what about the teachable moment? That won’t fit on a slide. Sometimes the plan doesn’t work for a particular group of kids and you have to recognize that, scrap it and wing it. Sometimes the chemistry works and you get the most valid learning experience for these kids ever. But if you are hugging your PP, you are dead in the water. UGH. Sorry. I get riled up about the crap, yes I said it, CRAP that goes on in schools that we call “education.”

Hey first grader, spend 3 hours on the weekend with a parent figuring out power point. Oh you can’t add? Don’t worry, you can use power point though.

While we do live in an increasingly digital age, not every piece of information will come visually and how the heck will kids learn judgment about what is and isn’t important/relevant if we hand them a PP? UGH.

The problem is when we substitute the tool for learning for the real learning.

Ok Sorry. I will back down.

[Tamara]

Our kids are lucky to have ipads in school but even then they are considering taking them out! Not sure of the reason. I love the idea of using them to research and to learn and they are the type of technology that would be more effective than power point. Some schools (the private ones) require them on the booklist from year 7! I would be pushing for that to happen in your school over power point. I mean like whoopdedoo! It takes the fun out of education if you pressure children unnecessarily. And it isnt often that I sing the praises of our school but this is one good thing they are doing because it is something the kids would very likely be using on completion.

Having said that though, technology moves super fast! The plus for ipads is the apps you can learn with are amazing – you just learn to get stressed with power point!

[needlewoman]

Couldn’t possibly comment on ipads; just got the hang, and learned to love my basic mobile phone – ok so I’m old. My news is much more interesting. A dear youngish woman whom I’ve known since she was born was safely delivered of a little girl – Iris Frieda – abt 24 hrs ago. Poor darling had a rough pregnancy, and has found the last few months of heat very trying. Everybody well, and she expects to come home tomorrow. “Big” brother Levi (2 yr 8mths) rather confused but philosophical about all the treats and presents being showered on him at present, and it’s going to be very interesting for the parents dealing with two. Just so pleased that everybody ok. First grand daughter for my friends, and another little person to spoil via Oliver + S for me -YES!!!

Closer to home physically, my next door neighbours have welcomed LUNA INDIGO as their first child, and girl a few days ago. As it was by caesarian, the mother won’t be home for a few days yet, so life could get very interesting from now on, depending on how quickly this baby settles. We share a wall in the kitchen. But I’m so pleased for them, but their cat is in for a shock.

Cool change has arrived, thank the Lord, so it will be with you soon, Nicole, and suffering friends in Victoria by tomorrow morning. I know my brain ceased to function reliably on several days ago, and I’m looking fwd to some real sleep soon.

Local parish school of young mother of 3 in Vic. insisted on i pads for this year _ not sure whether it’s all kids, or above certain age, and young mum told me that some parents withdrew their kids “in protest”. I think like the “uniform” issue, parents do not like being dictated to by people/institutions they believe do not understand the costs involved in following school edicts.

Welcome back mummy2Maria. Where you been? Hope the wallet recovers eventually.

[Tamara]

If the school is offered funding for them then the parents dont get a say – they will cheer along with the staff but if they did have to pay then yes we would have “peaceful protests” in the main street that would probably make the worldwide news!

Good for you to have all these little girls around you to hopefully sew for both.

Oh yes we had the doona out last night it was so cool! Great tl not have the air con on for once! It was about 14 degrees taking the kids to school this morning but it wont last long before it heats up a bit again. Definitely nice to have Autumnal weather though.